PM Boys Go 4-0 In Six Days
Since losing its first two games, the Parry McCluer High School boys basketball team has strung together nine consecutive wins, including four in six days last week.
The Fighting Blues (9-2 overall, 3-0 Pioneer District) started last week with a 67-47 nondistrict road win over Auburn (4-6). When the teams last met in the Region 1C semifinals last year, PM won 60-55.
PM raced to a 24-12 lead after the first quarter and was up 36-26 at halftime before pulling away in the second half.
PM JUNIOR guard Langston Cook dribbles the ball while guarded by a Craig County player. Cook led the Blues with 24 points in the 71-22 win. (Ronnie Coffey photo)
Langston Cook led the Blues with 23 points, six rebounds and six assists. Jamier Jordan scored 22 points for PM, shooting 6-of-8 from three-point range.
Reviewing the game, PM head coach Tyler Kerr said, “Auburn is a really good team. They play really tough teams in the Mountain Empire [District]. I think it was our best game all year, in terms of playing a complete four quarters.”
PM 74, HC 25
Returning to district action at Highland County on Tuesday, the Blues cruised to a 74-25 win.
PM led 10-6 after the first quarter and scored 31 points in the second quarter to take a 41-19 halftime lead. “The challenge at halftime was to not revert to our sluggish first quarter,” said Kerr. PM rose to that challenge and went on to score 23 more points in the third quarter while holding the Rams (7-2, 1-2) scoreless.
Cook led all players with 31 points and nine rebounds, while Jordan scored 21 points, and Parker Snider had six rebounds and four assists.
PM 71, CC 22
The Blues returned home and coasted to a 71-22 win over district rival Craig County (1-6, 0-2) on Thursday.
In the first quarter, the Blues were kickstarted by a 3-pointer from Jordan and a three-point play from Quentin Rosser to get an early seven-point lead. The Blues led 20-4 after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Cook and Nathan Glass combined for nine points to extend PM’s lead. The Blues led 41-19 at halftime, fueled by four treys from Jordan.
PM increased its lead to 64-19 by the end of the third quarter and stayed comfortably ahead for the rest of the game, allowing reserves to get playing time.
“We just kept saying don’t look at the score,” said Kerr. “The way we shared the ball when it was close, and when the score got up, was excellent.”
On the other side of the ball, Kerr said, “No matter who the opponent is, we’ve really cleaned up defensively.”
Cook led PM with 24 points, Jordan scored 14 points, and Glass chipped in 11.
PM 68, JR 44
Ending the week in Buchanan, the Blues earned a 68-44 road win over James River in nondistrict action on Saturday afternoon.
Unlike in their previous contest against the Knights (6-5), a 68-61 comeback win by the Blues on Dec. 23 in Buena Vista, the Blues got out to a big lead early, going up 34-11 by halftime and staying comfortably ahead.
The Blues were scheduled to play host to Smith Mountain Lake Christian Academy on Monday and will visit district rival Bath County on Thursday, with the varsity game only at 7 p.m. They’ll have a rematch at home against Auburn on Saturday, starting with junior varsity action at 1:30 p.m., with the varsity game scheduled to follow at 3.
ABOVE, Fighting Blue sophomore guard Brody Coleman battles two Craig County players for the ball. AT LEFT, PM senior forward Sam Griffin goes up for a shot. (Ronnie Coffey photos)
